Antique 11ft Gillows Style William IV Extending Dining Table C1835 19th C

A very rare opportunity to own a good early antique William IV flame mahogany extending dining table in the manner of Gillows of Lancaster, Circa 1835 in date.

The table top having a moulded edge with a pull out action and four leaves, with brass clips. The leaves can be added or removed as required to suit the occasion. The table has been hand-crafted from solid flame mahogany which has a beautiful grain, and is raised on five substantial ring turned and tapering reeded legs that terminate in heavy brass cup castors

It measures just over 11ft in length fully extended, which makes it ideal for large dinner parties.

Condition:

In excellent condition having been beautifully cleaned, polished and waxed in our workshops, please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:

Height 77 cm x Width 334 cm x Depth 138 cm - Fully extended

Height 77 cm x Width 135 cm x Depth 138 cm - With all 4 leaves removed

Dimensions in inches:

Height 2 foot, 6 inches x Width 10 foot, 11 inches x Depth 4 foot, 6 inches - Fully extended

Height 2 foot, 6 inches x Width 4 foot, 5 inches x Depth 4 foot, 6 inches - With all 4 leaves removed

William IV - the brief reign of William IV (1830 – 1837) marked a period of transition between the Regency period (which had been an age of innovation based on revivalist styles such as ancient Egypt, and the Grecian designs) and the Victorian era.

William IV furniture is similar in style to Regency furniture with many of the designs from the Regency period being copied but often executed in a much heavier manner with chairs, tables and other items being coarser and clumsier in appearance when compared with those made during the Regency period.

Popular pieces produced during this period include tilt top dining tables and pillared extendable tables. Sofa tables and drum tables were also favoured at the time as were sideboards and card tables. Heavy brass fittings were a prominent feature such as lion’s paw feet on tables. Chairs frequently sported sabre legs to the back with stumpy bulbous turned legs to the front. The rope twist carved back was also much in favour.

This period also saw the introduction of the more exotic timbers such as zebra wood. With the Industrial Revolution getting under way furniture making saw the increased use of mechanisation a trend set to accelerate during the Victorian period.

This short, but important transitional period eventually gave way to the romanticism of the Victorians but the furniture it produced was usually of good quality and it remains sought after and desirable today.

Robert Gillow (1704–1772) was an English furniture manufacturer. He joined with a family of traders called Sattersthwaite and sailed with them to the West Indies as a ships carpenter. In Jamaica he became interested in mahogany and brought samples of the wood back to Lancaster in 1720. This may have been the first mahogany to be imported to England.

He founded the luxury furniture and furnishings firm Gillow of Lancashire in 1730. During the 1730s he began to exploit the lucrative West Indies trade exporting mahogany furniture and importing rum and sugar, in addition to fitting out ships cabins and doing finishing work in construction. The firm rapidly established a reputation for supplying high quality furniture and furnishings to the richest families in the country. They also had a London workshop in Thames Street. In 1764 a permanent London branch of Gillow's was established at 176 Oxford Road, now Oxford Street, by Robert's son, Thomas Robert Gillow, and William Taylor.

As well as working in solid mahogany, Gillows made veneered and painted furniture, and often used japanning to imitate inlay. As textiles came down in price, the firm moved into upholstery – staying ahead of the game in 1785 when it sent an upholsterer from London to work in the Lancaster